Civil War? Libya’s New Government Threatened by Militias
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Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images(TRIPOLI, Libya) — With the glow of finally getting rid of Col. Moammar Gadhafi having faded, Libya’s new regime has new worries: civil war.
Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who heads the National Transitional Council, said Wednesday that civil war in Libya could occur soon if militia groups — many armed with weapons the NATO-backed efforts to oust Gadhafi helped them secure — keep attacking one another.
A major part of the problem is that these militias consisting of thousands of fighters that formed during the eight-month battle to remove Gadhafi have remained in Tripoli, threatening the security of the capital as well as the formation of Libya’s new government.
The plan was to have the militias out of the city no later than two weeks ago. Now, there are fears that the ad hoc units have no intention of leaving as fighters are reluctant to give up their firearms in exchange for jobs.
Attempts at creating a national army have also proven unsuccessful as former members of Gadhafi’s military and rebel fighters are reluctant to sign up for duty.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio